Gun loading mechanism



June 3, 1952 p, DIXON 2598,76

GUN LOADING MECHANISM A Filed April 6, 1948 17 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor Paul HDi x on.

June 3, 1952 P. H. DIXON 2,598,766

' GUN LOADING MECHANISM Filed April 6, 1948 l! Sheets-Sheet 3 Invenfor June 3, 1952 DlXON 2,598,766

GUN LOADING MECHANISM Filed April 6, 1948 1'! Sheets-Sheet 4 inventor Pau! H Dixon jume'g, N52 7 P. H. DIXON 2,598,?6@

GUN LOADING MECHANISM Filed April 6, 1948 l"! Sheets-Sheet 5 wmiw" Paul H Disco June 3, 1952 p; H DgXQN 2,59%,756

GUN LOADING MECHANISM Filed Apfil 6, 194a 17 Sheets-Sheet e June 3), 1952 P, H, DEXQN 2,598,766

GUN LOADING MECHANISM Filed April a, 1948 an Sheets-Sheet s lnvenior Pauli-.1

J1me 1952 P. H. DIXON GUN LOADING MECHANISM l7 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed April 6, 1948 lvenfor Paul HDZ xon June 3, 1952 P. H. DlXON 2,598,7$

GUN LOADING MECHANISM Filed A 511]. 6, 1948 17 Sheets-Sheet 10 iiwmziar Paul H Dixon jume 3, 1952 P, H DlXQN 2,598,765

GUN LOADING MECHANISM I Filed April 6, 1948 1'! Sheets-Sheet ll fizvenior A Pazyl HDixon 3W8 3, 1952 R xon; 2,59%,766

GUN LOADING MECHANISM 7 Filed April a, 1948 17 Sheets-Sheet 12 Paul H Dixon B 's torney June 3, 1952 DlXON 2,598,766

GUN LOADING MECHANISM Filed April 6, 1948 17 Sheets-Sheet l5 Invenior Paul HD2125 0n June 3, 1952 v DIXON 2,598,766

I V GUN LOADING MECHANISM Filed April 6, 1948 1? Sheets-Sheet 14 v F V 660 664 L L706 706 June 3, 1952 DIXQN 2,598,766

GUN LOADING MECHANISM Filed April 6, 1948 1'! Sheets-Sheet 15 III June 3, P H D|XON GUN LOADING MECHANISM Filed April 6, 1948 17 Sheets-Sheet 1e Patented June 3, 1952 GUN LOADING MECHANISM Paul H. Dixon,. Rockford, 111., assignor to United Shoe .Ma'chinery Corporation,

Flemington,

N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application April 6, 1948,, Serial N 0. 19,237

15 Ulaims. 1

This invention relates to loading mechanisms for guns, and more particularly to mechanisms for automatically loading guns of large caliber. The invention is disclosed herein as embodied in a gun arranged to be mounted in the nose of an airplane, although it is to be understood that, in its broader aspects, the invention is not thus limited in its applicability.

An object of the invention is to provide improved means for, transferring shells one at a time from a stationary magazine to a gun which is mounted for movements inazimu-thand in elevation. In accordance with a feature of the invention, the shells are transported from the magazine by a loadingbeam which is guided for movement between a predetermined position relatively to the magazine to a position which is dependent upon the position of the gun in azimuth and in elevation. Thus no matter in which of its positions the gun may be aimed the loading beam will always carry. the shell into alinement with the bore of the .gun so that it may be readily rammed thereinto.

The shells are carried by a magazinein a generally circular formation and are fed one atxa time to the upper portion of the magazine. In an' airplane gun of large caliber in which the weight of the shells is an important factor, it is important to avoid toogreatan unbalancing of the shells .in the magazine. Accordingly, it is an object. ofthe invention to provide, in amagazine of the type described, mechanism for automatically feeding the shells alternately from opposite sides of the magazine to a positionto be received by the loading beam.

A further object of the invention is toprovide, in combination with mechanism for transporting shells from amagazine to a gun, mechanism which is effective during such transporting for setting theiuses of the shells. This is accomplished in accordance with a further feature of the invention by rotating the. shell through a predetermined angle as it is carried by the beam. Provisionis made for holding the fuse ring of the shell against rotation for a time dependent upon the desired fuse setting time and then releasing the holding means so that during the completion of the rotative movement of the shell there will be no relative movement between the ring and shell beyond that which is desired in order to obtain the correct fuse setting time.

"The aboveand other features of the invention including various novel combinations of parts and details of construction will now be de '2 scribed by reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims.

in the drawings,

Fig. l is a side elevation of one form of mechanismin which the invention is embodied;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on the lineIIIIII of Fig. 1.;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line IV--IV of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation partly in section of the mechanism for adjusting the elevation of the gun and associated mechanism;

Fig. 6, is a section on theline V'I-VI of Fig.6; Fig. 7 is a section on the line VII-VII of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the cam shaft irom which various parts of the mechanism are driven and controlled;

Fig. 9 is a section on the line IXIX of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a section through the gear and clutch mechanism shown at the left in Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is a section on the line .XI-XI of Fig. 8;

Fig. 12 is a section on the line XII-XII of Fig. 3;

Fig. 13 is a viewof a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 12 with some of the parts removed;

Fig. 14 is a section on the line XIV+XIV of Fig. '13;

Fig. 15 is a side elevation of the breech end of the gun and the associated guide for the loading beam;

Fig.. 16 is a .section on the line XVIXVI of "Fig. 17 is a section on the line XVIL-XVII of Fig. 15.;

18 is a section on the line XVIII-XVIII of Fig. 15.;

Fig. .19 is a section on the lineYXIX-XIX of Fig. 15;

Fig. 20 is a rear elevation of the shellmagazine;

Fig. 21 is a side elevation of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 20;

Fig. 22 is a section on the line XXII.XXII of Fig. 2D;

. Fig. 23 is a section on the line XX[IIXXIII oi Fig. 22;

Fig. 24 is a iront elevation of the mid portion of one side of the magazine with the associated shell support shown partly in section;

Fig. 25 is a rear elevation on a larger scale, of a. portion ofthe mechanism shown in Fig. 24.;

"Fig.26 is a front elevation of a portionof the mechanism shownjin Fig. 24, with certain parts removed;

Fig. 32 is a side elevation of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 31;

Fig. 33 is a section on the line XXXIIIXXXIII of Fig. 2;

Fig. 34 is a section on'the line XiQiIV-XXXIV of Fig. 33;

Fig. 35 is a section on the line X)Q(V-X2QV of Fig. 33;

Fig. 36 is a section on the line XXXVI-XXXVI of Fig. 34;

Fig. 36a is a section on the line XXXVIa- XXXVIa of Fig. 36;

Fig. 3'7 is a section on the line Q(XVII XXZXVII of Fig. 2;

Fig. 38 is a section on the line XXXVIII- XXXVIII of Fig. 37;

Fig. 39 is a section on the line XXXIX- XXXIX of Fig. 38;

Fig. 40 is a section on the line XL--XL of Fig. 2; v

Fig. 41 is a section on the line XLIXLI of Fig. 37;

Fig. 42 is a section on the line XLIL-XLII of Fig. 2;

i Fig. 43 is a plan view partly in section of mechanism for controlling the fuse setting time;

Fig. 44 is a section on the line XLIV-XLIV of Fig. 43; I

Fig. 45 is a side elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 43;

Fig. 46 is a section on the line XLVI- -XLVI of Fi 43;

Fig. 47 is a section on the line XLVII-XLVII of Fig. 43, and

Fig. 48 is a section on the line XLVIII- XLVIJI of Fig. 43.

The invention is illustrated as embodied in loading and fuse-setting mechanism for a large caliber gun It! (Figs. 1, 2 and 3) carried ,by and projecting through the nose I2 of an airplane. The gun is mounted in the nose of the airplane for limited movements in azimuth and in elevation. As shown in Fig. 3 the gun includes trunnions I4 journaled in bearings l6 carried by a gimbal l8 for movement of the gun abouta horizontal axis relatively to the gimbal H3. The gimbal l8 includes upper and lower trunnions I9 journaled in bearings 20 for movements about a vertical axis whereby the gun may be moved with the gimbal in azimuth.

Carried by the airplane just rearwardly of. the gun l and wholly independently thereof is a shell magazine Min which are arranged a plurality of shells S (Fig. in semicircular formation. The shells are arranged in two groups at opposite sides of the center line of the gun and are fed alternately from the two sides of the magazine thereby to avoid any excessive unbalance in the weight of the shells in the airplane. The shells are carried one at a time by a loading beam L (Fig. 1) from the upper central portion of the magazine downwardly and into alinement with the bore of the gun. The loading beam is arranged as will be explained, always to move upwardly into the same position irrespective of the directions in which the gun is aimed and to carry the shell downwardly into alinement with the bore of the gun in any position of the gun. During the downward movement of the loading beam the fuse of the shell is set a predetermined amount and as soon as the shell is carried into alinement with the gun it is rammed into the gun by a rammer R.

Each section of the magazine is formed of supporting rings 22, 24 (Figs. 1 and 22) carried by ribs 23, 25 respectively, secured to the interior of the airplane, in which rings ride the rear and front portions of the shells respectively. The weight of each group of shells is sustained by a support'26 having carrying rolls 28 which travel in grooves in the rings 22, 24 (Fig. 23). Each support 26 has a pair of shell-engaging members 30, 32 upon which rests the lowermost shell of the respective group. Attached to a bar 33 carried by each support 26 is a cable 34 (Fig. 24) which passes over guide pulleys 36 carried by a ring 38 secured to a rib 39 in the interior of the airplane between the supporting rings 22, 24. The cable 34 also passes over pulleys 40, 42, 44 (Fig. 22) and is fastened to a large pulley 46 secured to a shaft 41 journaled in the interior of the airplane just forwardly of the magazine. To the shaft 41 is secured a second pulley 48 to which is fastened one end of a cable 50 the other end of which is secured to an end of a heavy tension spring 52. The spring 52 acts to move the pulley 46 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 22 thereby to move the shell support 26 secured to the end of the cable 34, upwardly to feed the shells into position to be engaged by the loading beam. Mechanism to be described controls upward movement of the support 26. It will be understood that the support 26 at. the other side of the magazine is connected to a heavy tension spring in a manner similarto the connection of the support 26 to the spring 52.

Each of the rings 38 carrying the pulleys 36 is provided with a series of spaced stops 54, with which cooperate latches 56 (Figs. 24 and 25) pivoted at 58 to ears fillcarried by the support With the parts in the position shown in these figures the upper latch is hooked over the upper end of a stop 54 whereas the lower latch engages the underside of the same'stop. .If now the lower latch is retracted or moved in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 25, the support 26 will be free to be moved upwardly by the aforedescribed spring 52 acting on the. cable 34.until the upper latch 56 engages the underside of the next stop. At this time the lower latch will engage over the upperedge of the stop shown in Fig. 25 thus effectively locking the'shell support into whatever position it has been moved. If the upper latch 56 is next retracted or moved out of engagement with the undersurface of'the associated stop another upward movement is impartedto the shell support. Thus it will be understood that in order to impart successive upward movements to either shell support alternate retractive movements are imparted tothe latches associated therewith. I

For thus alternately moving the two latches 56, a latch release ring 62 (Figs. 25 and 26) is mounted for limited sliding movement relatively to the ring 38. Pins 64 carried by the ring 62 cooperate with slots 66 in the ring 38 to limit the movement of the ring 62. The ring 62 carries suitably spaced ears 68 which cooperate with release arms I0 pvioted at I2 to the latches 56. Springs It (Fig. 24) act between the latches and pins 18 in the release arms I0 to hold the release arms in the positions shown in Fig. in which projecting ends of the pins 18 engage the adjacent surfaces of the latches. The latches 58 are provided with arms 8% to which are secured springs 82 the other endsof which are secured to pins 84 carried bythe support 26 to urge the latches into locking engagement with the stops 54. Assume now that the ring is moved upwardly, the ear 68 engages the release arm 10 on the lower latch 56 to move the latch out of enengagement with the adjacent surface of the stop 54 whereupon the support 26 is free to move upwardly until the upper latch engages the bottom of the next stop. Upon. return movement of the release ring, the next uppermost ear 68 will engage the upper release arm I0 which will move relatively to the latch against the action of the spring 16 to permit downward movement of the ear thereby. Upon the next reciprocation of the ring 62 the upper latch will be similarly operated bythis other ear 68 on the ring, the support moving upwardly each step sufiiciently to move .another shell into position to .be received by the loading beam. As will be explained, the rings 62 associated with each side of the magazineare operated alternately so .that thesupports at opposite sides of the magazine are moved alternately.

In loading the magazine the supports 26 must be .moved downwardly to their lowermost positions against the action of the springs '52. For this purpose each shaft 41 carrying the pulleys 46, 48 is provided with a bevel gear 84 (Fig. 21) arranged to mesh with a gear 85 in a gear housing 88. A worm gear on the shaft of the bevel gear 86 is engaged by a worm 92 arranged to be turned by a crank 94 thereby to turn the pulleys against the actions of the springs to move the associated support 26 downwardly. The housing 88 with gears 86, 90, 92 is removable as a unit from a bracket 95 in which the shaft 41 is journaled, so as not to interfere with the normal loading operation during firing of the gun. During this downward movement of the supports the latches 56 must be held in retracted positions. For this purpose the arms 80 (Fig. 25) have pin and slot connections with a bar 96 to the lower end of which is pivoted a recessed latch member 98 carrying a handle I00. .By moving the bar 96 downwardly the latches are retracted and are held in their retracted positions by hooking the latch 98 over a flange I02 on the support 26. After the resepective side of the magazine has been filled with shells and the support v25 is in its lowermost position the latch 98 is moved into the position shown in Fig. 2.4 whereby the support will be locked by the latches 55 against upward movement and the gear housing 88 can then be removed from the bracket 95.

Mechanism for alternately operating the release rings 62 at the opposite sides of the magazine is illustrated-in Figs. 2''] to 30. A cable IIEI (Fig. 26) connects the upper end of one of the release rings with a slide bar H2 (Fig. 27) and the other release ring is connected by a cable H4 with a slide bar I16. These slide bars are carried by a support II8 secured by screws I to the rib 39 by which the rings '38 are supported. Between the slide bars H2 and H6 is a slide bar I22 connected by a cable I24 to mechanism-which moves the bar I22 to the leftas viewed-in Fig. 27 upon each cycle of operation of the gun, by mechanism to-be described.

spring I26 connected between a pin-I22 .depend-' ing from the slide bar I22 and a frame member I30 urges the bar I22 to the right. 'The :movement of the bar I22 by the spring I26 is limited by engagement of an upturned endi.I.32 of the bar I22 with a frame member I34. The-bars I I2 and HS are also urged to the right-.by-springs I35 and I38, respectively, and these bars have upturned ends engageable with the frame member I34 to limit the movements of these bars by their respective springs.

Pivoted on the bar H2 is a "lever having pivotal connections at I42, I44 with .pullmembers I46, Ids, respectively. A link I50 connects these pull members together at one end, :the opposite ends thereof being provided with hook portions I52, I54 arranged for engagement with :projections I5t, I53 on the bars .I I2, IIiB, respectively. The lever I40 has anarm I69 connected by ra spring I62 to the bar I22. This springacts to move the lever I40 into either .one of two .extreme positions in which the arm I60 .of the lever engages one or the other of the pins :I6'4, :IB'G carried by the pull members I46, I48 respectively.

Assume that the parts are in the positions shown in Fig. 27 and that the bar I22 is moved to the left, the hook portion I54 of the pull mem-- ber I43 engages the projection 158 on thebar IIG moving this bar to the left and operating the corresponding release ring. After the. release ring has been moved as far as it can go the bar- I22 moves relatively to the pull. memberM-B, rocking the lever I49 in a counterclockwise direction, thus causing the pull members toushift into the positions shown in Fig; 30, in which positions they are held by the spring I62. :After the bar I22 is returned to its initial position, the hook portion I52 of the pull member I46 will be snapped by the action of the lever I49 thereon into operative relation to the projection I56 on the bar I I2and the pullmember I48 will move out'of operative relationto the projection I58 and will assume a position corresponding to the position of the pull member I46 in Fig. 27. The parts are now positioned so that upon the next operation of the .bar I22 the bar II2 will be operated to move the release ring .62 at the opposite side of the magazine, during the latter part of which operation the parts will again be shifted as heretofore described. Thus, it will be seen that successive operations of the slide bar I22 will cause alternate operations of the bars H2, H6, whereupon the shells will be fed alternately in opposite sides of the magazine by the mechanism heretofore described.

As shown in Fig. 31 the shell-supporting rings 22, 24 at opposite sides of the magazine are spaced from each other at their upper portions to permit a shell to drop therebetween into position to be engaged by the loading beam. Mechanism is associated with each set of supporting rings to hold the shell in the desired position until'the loading beam moves upwardly to receive the shell. Pivoted at I10 to the left-hand ring 22 and depending therefrom is an arm 'I'TZhaving threaded through the lower end thereof a screw I14 arranged for engagement with the back end of a shell. A stationary vertical bar I16 secured to the other ring 22 cooperates with the screw I14 to provide a support for the back end of the shell as long as the arm I12 remains in the position illustrated in Fig. 31. Also pivoted at .170 is an arm I18 .having a pin and. slot 

